Jimmy Witherspoon - Love Is A Five Letter Word

Bitrate: MP3@320K/s
Time: 43:09
Size: 98.8 MB
Styles: Urban blues, Blues/jazz vocals
Year: 1975/2011
Art: Front

[0:58] 1. Spoon Tang
[3:34] 2. Buried Alive In The Hills
[3:10] 3. Aviation Man
[3:18] 4. Fool's Paradise
[2:33] 5. What's Going Down
[4:29] 6. The Other Side Of Love
[2:50] 7. Reflection
[4:11] 8. No Money Down
[3:07] 9. Love Is A Five Letter Word
[2:46] 10. Nothing's Changed
[2:53] 11. Landlord, Landlord
[3:01] 12. I Love You, Yes I Do
[3:01] 13. Rollin' Like A Pebble In The Sand
[3:11] 14. I Was Lost (But Now I'm Found)

Mike Vernon had the uncommon producer's gift for shaping arrangements that brought out Jimmy Witherspoon's best. Witherspoon's fans will find this session indispensable to their collections ~Living Blues

Love Is A Five Letter Word

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Jimmy Witherspoon with Brother Jack McDuff - The Blue is Now

Styles: Jazz Blues
Year: 1967
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 33:08
Size: 76,6 MB
Art: Front
(3:53) 1. Sweet Slumber
(2:48) 2. I'm Gonna Move to the Outskirts of Town
(4:23) 3. Past Forty Blues
(2:25) 4. S.K. Blues
(3:03) 5. Late One Evening
(3:31) 6. Part Time Woman
(2:17) 7. Good Rocking Tonight
(5:20) 8. I Won't Tell a Soul
(3:13) 9. My Baby's Quit Me
(2:11) 10. My Money's Long This Morning, Baby

Jimmy Witherspoon recorded a series of excellent albums for Verve in the late '60s. Unfortunately, these have not received the attention they deserve, and are frequently relegated in Witherspoon's huge catalog. The Blues Is Now is arguably the finest of these recordings, and Witherspoon's voice is in top form and hugely expressive. Like all of the artist's albums of the decade, it's not the most consistent of listening experiences, but that's of little interest when songs and performances are as good as "My Baby's Quit Me" and Witherspoon's own "Late One Evening." A light-night blues classic, this is Witherspoon at his most relaxed and assured and is a joy to listen to.~ Thomas Ward https://www.allmusic.com/album/the-blues-is-now-mw0000312591

Personnel: Jimmy Witherspoon — Vocals; Jack McDuff — Organ; Danny Turner — Flute, Sax (Alto), Sax (Tenor); Leo Johnson — Flute, Sax (Tenor); Melvin Sparks — Guitar; Jymie Merritt — Bass; Ray Appleton — Drums

The Blue is Now

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Richard 'Groove' Holmes, Jimmy Witherspoon - Groovin' With Jimmy

Styles: Jazz, Hard Bop
Year: 2018
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 71:38
Size: 165,1 MB
Art: Front

(4:33)  1. Groove's Groove
(3:21)  2. California Blues
(6:44)  3. What A Wonderful World
(4:07)  4. Misty
(4:18)  5. Walking On A Tightrope
(7:33)  6. Slow Blues In G
(7:08)  7. Song For My Father
(8:22)  8. My Friend
(7:06)  9. Lonesome Road Blues
(7:24) 10. Onsaya Joy
(7:51) 11. Danger Zone Is Everywhere
(3:06) 12. The Time Has Come

Revered in soul-jazz circles, Richard "Groove" Holmes was an unapologetically swinging Jimmy Smith admirer who could effortlessly move from the grittiest of blues to the most sentimental of ballads. Holmes, a very accessible, straightforward and warm player who was especially popular in the black community, had been well respected on the Philadelphia/Southern New Jersey circuit by the time he signed with Pacific Jazz in the early '60s and started receiving national attention by recording with such greats as Ben Webster and Gene Ammons. Holmes, best known for his hit 1965 version of "Misty," engaged in some inspired organ battles with Jimmy McGriff in the early '70s before turning to electric keyboards and fusion-ish material a few years later. The organ was Holmes' priority in the mid- to late '80s, when he recorded for Muse (he also had stints throughout his career with Prestige Records and Groove Merchant) . 

Holmes was still delivering high-quality soul-jazz for Muse (often featuring tenor titan Houston Person) when a heart attack claimed his life at the age of 60 in 1991 after a long struggle with prostrate cancer. He was a musician to the end, playing his last shows in a wheelchair. ~ Alex Henderson https://www.allmusic.com/artist/richard-groove-holmes-mn0000848952/biography

Groovin' With Jimmy

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Jon Hendricks - Evolution Of The Blues Song

Bitrate: MP3@320K/s
Time: 46:31
Size: 106.5 MB
Styles: Vocal jazz
Year: 1960/2018
Art: Front

[3:14] 1. Jon Hendricks - Introduction
[1:10] 2. Jon Hendricks & Chorus - Amo
[2:29] 3. Jon Hendricks - Some Stopped On De Way
[5:23] 4. Hannah Dean & Chorus - Swing Low, Sweet Chariot
[3:40] 5. Pony Poindexter - New Orleans
[4:33] 6. Big Miller - If I Had My Share
[3:21] 7. Jimmy Witherspoon - Please Send Me Someone To Love
[2:24] 8. Big Miller - Sufferin' Blues
[2:26] 9. Hannah Dean & Chorus - That's Enough
[1:49] 10. Jon Hendricks & Chorus - Aw, Gal
[3:51] 11. Jimmy Witherspoon - See See Rider
[2:47] 12. Jon Hendricks - Jumpin' With Symphony Sid
[2:08] 13. Jimmy Witherspoon - Sun Gonna Shine In My Door
[2:44] 14. Jon Hendricks - W.P.A. Blues
[4:26] 15. Big Miller & Chorus - Sometimes I Feel Like A Motherless Child

Of the many projects Hendricks has been involved in, this is his crowning glory. It toured the country as a stage production, depicting the history of African-American roots music, from spirituals and field hollers to blues, gospel, and jazz. Hendricks recites signposts of the musical progression in rhyme, and singing here and there. Pony Poindexter plays a little tenor sax and talks about New Orleans, while Ike Isaacs' trio backs the singers. An intro by Hendricks postulates that adults "have their minds made up, don't confuse 'em with facts" and refers to musicians as "metaphysicians." This is one of several pieces where the chorus hums while Hendricks tells his tale. African drums, serving as a call-and-response device, inform "Amo." A slave story told in a Harry Belafonte style by Hendricks accents "Some Stopped on De Way," while a spiritual rap precedes "Swing Low Sweet Chariot." Big Miller digs into a personalized gospel blues, "If I Had My Share," and Witherspoon belts "Please Send Me Someone to Love" like only he can. A highlight is Miller's "Sufferin' Blues," followed by Hendricks' field holler "Aw, Gal" and Witherspoon's groovin' "C.C. (Circuit) Rider." Poindexter returns on "Jumpin' With Symphony Sid," which includes references to jazz and Lester Young. The program ends with Witherspoon's brilliant rendition of Big Bill Broonzy's "Sun Gonna Shine," Hendricks' downtrodden take on "W.P.A. Blues," and Big Miller's turn on "Motherless Child." If you'd like to get your children -- or uninformed grown-ups -- a quick, painless, enjoyable lesson in the last 100+ years of our American classical heritage, this is a perfect primer. ~Michael G. Nastos

Evolution Of The Blues Song mc
Evolution Of The Blues Song zippy

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Jimmy Witherspoon - Jazz Me Blues: The Best Of Jimmy Witherspoon (Remastered)

Bitrate: MP3@320K/s
Time: 67:19
Size: 154.1 MB
Styles: Urban blues, Jazz blues vocals
Year: 1998
Art: Front

[4:11] 1. Good Rockin' Tonight
[3:15] 2. Wee Baby Blues
[3:35] 3. When I Been Drinkin'
[2:57] 4. When The Lights Go Out
[3:05] 5. Bad, Bad Whiskey
[2:58] 6. One Scotch, One Bourbon, One Beer
[2:10] 7. Endless Sleep
[3:43] 8. I'll Go On Living
[2:31] 9. I Had A Dream
[3:50] 10. S..K. Blues
[2:21] 11. Trouble In Mind
[3:12] 12. How Long Will It Take To Be A Man
[3:08] 13. I Don't Know
[2:28] 14. In The Dark
[2:44] 15. If You Live The Life, You Pay The Price
[2:45] 16. Money's Gettin' Cheaper
[3:42] 17. Grab Me A Freight
[4:45] 18. C.C. Rider
[3:24] 19. How Long Blues
[6:25] 20. 'tain't Nobody's Bizness If I Do

Whether this is truly the "best" of Witherspoon is debatable -- there's nothing predating 1956 -- however, it's a good 20-track sampling of 1956-1966 material, favoring (but not limited to) his sessions for Prestige. Witherspoon puts his imprint on a lot of blues/R&B classics -- "Good Rockin' Tonight," "Bad Bad Whiskey," "One Scotch, One Bourbon, One Beer," "C.C. Rider," "Money's Gettin' Cheaper, "T'Ain't Nobody's Bizness" -- and while not everyone will find these to be his definitive versions, they are all good ones. The roster of jazz luminaries heard at one point or another over the course of the disc is staggering, including Coleman Hawkins, Woody Herman, Gerry Mulligan, T-Bone Walker, Kenny Burrell, and Pepper Adams. Never do they overshadow the singer, and on the whole this is one of the better jazz/blues vocal collections available, displaying his skill in both small combos and big bands. ~Richie Unterberger

Jazz Me Blues: The Best Of Jimmy Witherspoon (Remastered)

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Jimmy Witherspoon - Nobody's Business

Bitrate: MP3@320K/s
Time: 42:48
Size: 98.0 MB
Styles: Urban blues, Jazz/blues vocals
Year: 1997
Art: Front

[2:52] 1. Wandering Gal Blues
[2:45] 2. Hey Mr. Landlord
[2:55] 3. Money's Getting Cheaper
[2:47] 4. Skidrow Blues
[3:04] 5. How Long Blues
[3:05] 6. Ain't Nobody's Business
[3:07] 7. Backwater Blueas
[2:47] 8. Froggiemoore
[2:58] 9. In The Evening
[2:25] 10. McShann Bounce
[2:58] 11. Jumpin With Louis
[3:04] 12. Early Mornings
[2:40] 13. Six Foot Two Blues
[2:42] 14. Spoon Calls Hootie
[2:33] 15. Destruction Blues

One of the great blues singers of the post-World War II period, Jimmy Witherspoon was also versatile enough to fit comfortably into the jazz world. Witherspoon was born on August 8, 1920, in Gurdon, AR. As a child, he sang in a church choir, and made his debut recordings with Jay McShann for Philo and Mercury in 1945 and 1946. His own first recordings, using McShann's band, resulted in a number one R&B hit in 1949 with "Ain't Nobody's Business, Pts. 1 & 2" on Supreme Records. Live performances of "No Rollin' Blues" and "Big Fine Girl" provided 'Spoon with two more hits in 1950.

The mid-'50s were a lean time, with his style of shouting blues temporarily out of fashion; singles were tried for Federal, Chess, Atco, Vee Jay, and others, with little success. Jimmy Witherspoon at the Monterey Jazz Festival (HiFi Jazz) from 1959 lifted him back into the limelight. Partnerships with Ben Webster or Groove Holmes were recorded, and he toured Europe in 1961 with Buck Clayton, performing overseas many more times in the decades to follow; some memorable music resulted, but Witherspoon's best 1960s album is Evening Blues (Prestige), which features T-Bone Walker on guitar and Clifford Scott on saxophone. As the '70s began, Witherspoon decided to take a short break from live performances, settled in Los Angeles, took a job as a disc jockey, and continued making records. In 1971 Witherspoon teamed up with former Animals vocalist Eric Burdon for the album Guilty. Unfortunately it sold poorly. By 1973 his short retirement from live performances was over. Witherspoon was ready to get back on the road and assembled an amazing band featuring a young Robben Ford on lead guitar. Those live shows had received positive reviews, rejuvenating Witherspoon's move toward a definite rock/soul sound. He traveled to London in 1974 to record Love Is a Five Letter Word with British blues producer Mike Vernon. Vernon had produced critically acclaimed British blues albums by John Mayall, Fleetwood Mac, and Ten Years After. By the early '80s, Witherspoon was diagnosed with throat cancer. Although he remained active and was a popular concert attraction, the effect of the disease on his vocals was obvious. Witherspoon passed away on September 18, 1997, at the age of 77. ~bio by Bob Porter

Nobody's Business

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Jimmy Witherspoon - With The Junior Mance Trio

Bitrate: MP3@320K/s
Time: 37:23
Size: 85.6 MB
Styles: Urban blues, Jazz-blues vocals
Year: 1997
Art: Front

[0:23] 1. Intro
[2:16] 2. Lowdown Dirty Blues
[4:07] 3. Cal It Stormy Monday
[3:01] 4. Kansas City
[2:55] 5. Trouble In Mind
[3:12] 6. Times Getting' Tougher Than Tough
[4:16] 7. Ain't Nobody's Business
[2:54] 8. I'm Gonna Move To The Outskirts Of Town
[4:10] 9. Going Down Slow
[3:19] 10. Roll Em' Pete
[6:46] 11. No Rollin' Blues

With a voice as tasty as grandma's cooking, Witherspoon hit the 1940s running and had a series of hit records. The Blues that burst out of him were tinged with a weary sense of loss: he roared but it was almost a quiet roar. By the mid-'50s, he was considered all washed up. He started recording with a series of jazz greats such as Ben Webster, Richard Groove Holmes, and Buck Clayton. It was a move that did more than just revive his career: his music was better than ever. Witherspoon's intense delivery is so powerful that he can lay out during long solos and his presence can still be felt. More soul is found in his music than in a cemetery. He left that soul with us when he finally lost his long battle with throat cancer in '97. He was singing until the end.

With The Junior Mance Trio

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Jimmy Witherspoon - Witherspoon Mulligan Webster At The Renaissance

Bitrate: MP3@320K/s
Time: 41:54
Size: 95.9 MB
Styles: Jazz/Blues
Year: 2009
Art: Front

[3:34] 1. Introduction
[3:25] 2. Time's Gettin' Tougher Than Tough
[3:22] 3. How Long Blues
[4:41] 4. Corrine, Corrina
[4:24] 5. C.C. Rider
[2:42] 6. Roll 'em Pete
[3:10] 7. Every Day I Have The Blues
[3:46] 8. Kansas City
[3:25] 9. I'm Gonna Move To The Outskirts Of Town
[5:32] 10. St. Louis Blues
[3:49] 11. Trouble In Mind

Bass – Leroy Vinnegar; Drums – Mel Lewis; Piano – Jimmy Rowles; Saxophone – Ben Webster, Gerry Mulligan; Vocals – Jimmy Witherspoon. Recorded live at the Rennaissance Club, L.A., California, Dec. 2 & 9 1959.

In what sounds like a late-'50s session at the Renaissance Club in Los Angeles, blues belter Jimmy Witherspoon is backed by an all-star quintet featuring soloists Ben Webster and Gerry Mulligan, with pianist Jimmy Rowles and his trio. There are ten classic selections: first-rate familiar tunes to all fans of the blues, and not a speck of cereal filler. 'Spoon and his band sound on the money, but the only problem lies in the production values, where the musicians -- and especially the vocalist -- are distant, and recorded a bit thinly. Regardless, this is a collection most fans of the legendary Witherspoon should want and search for. ~Michael G. Nastos

Witherspoon Mulligan Webster At The Renaissance

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Jimmy Witherspoon With Jay McShann & His Band - Spoon Calls Hootie

Bitrate: MP3@320K/s
Time: 34:20
Size: 78.6 MB
Styles: Urban blues, Jazz-blues
Year: 1966/2010
Art: Front

[2:46] 1. Skid Row Blues
[2:59] 2. In The Evening
[2:45] 3. Frog-I-More
[2:25] 4. McShann Bounce
[3:04] 5. How Long Blues
[2:53] 6. Money's Gettin' Cheaper
[2:43] 7. Spoon Calls Hootie
[2:56] 8. Ain't Nobody's Business 2
[3:08] 9. Ain't Nobody's Business
[3:01] 10. Jumpin' With Louis
[3:04] 11. Backwater Blues
[2:31] 12. Destruction Blues

The great veteran pianist Jay McShann (also known as Hootie) enjoyed a long career and it is unfair to primarily think of him as merely the leader of an orchestra that featured a young Charlie Parker. He was mostly self-taught as a pianist, worked with Don Byas as early as 1931 and played throughout the Midwest before settling in Kansas City in 1936. McShann formed his own sextet the following year and by 1939 had his own big band. In 1940 at a radio station in Wichita, KS, McShann and an octet out of his orchestra recorded eight songs that were not released commercially until the 1970s; those rank among the earliest of all Charlie Parker records (he is brilliant on "Honeysuckle Rose" and "Lady Be Good") and also feature the strong rhythm section team McShann had with bassist Gene Ramey and drummer Gus Johnson. The full orchestra recorded for Decca on two occasions during 1941-1942 but they were typecast as a blues band and did not get to record many of their more challenging charts (although very rare broadcasts have since surfaced and been released on CD by Vintage Jazz Classics). In addition to Bird (who had a few short solos), the main stars were trumpeter Bernard Anderson, the rhythm section, and singer Walter Brown. McShann and his band arrived in New York in February 1942 and made a strong impression, but World War II made it difficult for any new orchestras to catch on. There was a final session in December 1943 without Parker, but McShann was soon drafted and the band broke up. After being discharged later in 1944, McShann briefly re-formed his group but soon moved to Los Angeles, where he led combos for the next few years; his main attraction was the young singer Jimmy Witherspoon. McShann was in obscurity for the next two decades, making few records and mostly playing in Kansas City. In 1969 he was rediscovered and McShann (who had first sung on records in 1966) was soon a popular pianist/vocalist. Sometimes featuring violinist Claude Williams, he toured constantly, recorded frequently, and appeared at many jazz festivals, being active into the mid-'90s. Jay McShann, who recorded through the years for Onyx (the 1940 radio transcriptions), Decca, Capitol, Aladdin, Mercury, Black Lion, EmArcy, Vee Jay, Black & Blue, Master Jazz, Sackville, Sonet, Storyville, Atlantic, Swingtime, and Music Masters among others, was a vital pianist and an effective blues vocalist who keept a classic style alive. A live album, Hootie Blues, recorded in 2001 in Toronto and released in 2006 by Stony Plain, showed that McShann could still bring it at the age of 85. He died at the age of 90 on December 7, 2006. ~ bio by Scott Yanow

Witherspoon was born in Gurdon, Arkansas. He first attracted attention singing with Teddy Weatherford's band in Calcutta, India, which made regular radio broadcasts over the U. S. Armed Forces Radio Service during World War II. Witherspoon made his first records with Jay McShann's band in 1945. He first recorded under his own name in 1947, and two years later with the McShann band, he had his first hit, "Ain't Nobody's Business," a song which came to be regarded as his signature tune. In 1950 he had hits with two more songs closely identified with him: "No Rollin' Blues", "Big Fine Girl", as well as "Failing By Degrees" and "New Orleans Woman" recorded with the Gene Gilbeaux Orchestra which included Herman Washington and Don Hill on the Modern Records label. These were recorded from a live performance on May 10, 1949 at a "Just Jazz" concert Pasadena, CA sponsored by Gene Norman. Another classic Witherspoon composition is "Times Gettin' Tougher Than Tough".

Witherspoon's style of blues - that of the "blues shouter" - became unfashionable in the mid-1950s, but he returned to popularity with his 1959 album, Jimmy Witherspoon at the Monterey Jazz Festival, which featured Roy Eldridge, Woody Herman, Ben Webster, Coleman Hawkins, Earl Hines and Mel Lewis, among others. He later recorded with Gerry Mulligan, Leroy Vinnegar, Richard "Groove" Holmes and T-Bone Walker.

Spoon Calls Hootie

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Wilbur De Paris, Jimmy Witherspoon - New Orleans Blues

Bitrate: MP3@320K/s
Time: 36:56
Size: 84.6 MB
Styles: Jazz blues, Urban blues
Year: 1957/2013
Art: Front

[3:57] 1. Lotus Blossom
[3:02] 2. Trouble In Mind
[2:00] 3. Big Fine Girl
[2:59] 4. How Long Blues
[5:36] 5. Good Rollin' Blues
[2:39] 6. Careless Love
[5:11] 7. Tain't Nobody's Bizness If I Do
[3:47] 8. St. Louis Blues
[3:40] 9. When The Sun Goes Down
[4:01] 10. See See Rider

Jimmy Witherspoon (nicknamed Spoon) was born in 1923, in Gurdon, Ark., where he grew up singing in the choir of the First Baptist Church. He ran away from home in the mid-1930's to work in Los Angeles, and from 1941 to 1943 was in the merchant marine. His first break came during that time, sitting in with Teddy Weatherford's jazz band on an Armed Forces Radio broadcast from Calcutta, India. Returning in 1944 to San Francisco, where his mother then lived, he replaced Walter Brown in Jay McShann's band during the group's stay in Vallejo, Calif. He toured and recorded with Mr. McShann for four years, forming his emotional and sophisticated singing style: a layering of fine jazz rhythms over gospel inflections in a deep, wide mellow baritone.

Wilbur DeParis, an adequate soloist, was an excellent ensemble player and an important bandleader who helped keep New Orleans jazz alive in the 1950s. He started out on alto horn and in 1922 played C-melody sax while working with A.J. Piron before switching permanently to trombone. In 1925, DeParis led a band in Philadelphia and then had stints in the orchestras of Leroy Smith (1928), Dave Nelson, Noble Sissle, Edgar Hayes, Teddy Hill (1936-1937), the Mills Blue Rhythm Band, and Louis Armstrong (1937-1940). Not as well-known as his brother, the talented trumpet soloist Sidney DeParis, Wilbur was with Roy Eldridge's big band and Duke Ellington (1945-1947) and recorded with Sidney Bechet during 1949-1950. However, it was in 1951 when he put together a band to play at Ryan's that included his brother and clarinetist Omer Simeon that he found his niche. Wilbur DeParis' New New Orleans Jazz Band did not just play Dixieland standards but marches, pop tunes, and hymns, all turned into swinging and spirited jazz. Throughout the 1950s, the group recorded consistently exciting sets for Atlantic (all of which are unfortunately long out of print) and they were the resident band at Ryan's during 1951-1962, touring Africa in 1957. DeParis continued leading bands up until his death, but his last recordings were in 1961. ~Scott Yanow

New Orleans Blues

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Jimmy Witherspoon - Hey Mrs. Jones

Styles: Vocal And Guitar Jazz

Year: 1962

File: MP3@320K/s

Time: 30:17

Size: 69,9 MB

Art: Front

(2:31)  1. Hey, Mrs. Jones

(2:30)  2. In the Dark

(2:37)  3. Tanya

(2:12)  4. I Ain't Mad at You, Pretty Baby

(2:19)  5. Have Faith

(2:18)  6. Lovey Dovey

(3:10)  7. I Don't Know

(2:24)  8. Warm Your Heart

(2:22)  9. Wee Baby Blues

(2:47) 10. If You Live the Life, You Pay the Price

(2:32) 11. Pink Champagne

(2:28) 12. The Masquerade Is Over

One of the many unfairly overlooked albums from Witherspoon's early career, Hey Mrs. Jones is a marvelous discovery, although its lack of stylistic unity, whilst showing Witherspoon's versatility, also accounts for a occasionally confusing listening experience. The best cuts on the album are priceless Witherspoon -- "The Masquerade Is Over" contains one of Witherspoon's most emotional and desperate performances, while "Have Faith" is a great gospel song, sung with genuine fervor. The album is marred slightly by a few novelty numbers, and it's hard to see anyone listening to "Pink Champagne" or "Lovey Dovey" many times, but this is a slight criticism of an album which is still one of Witherspoon's greatest.~Thomas Ward http://www.allmusic.com/album/hey-mrs-jones-mw0000232197

Personnel: Jimmy Witherspoon (vocals, guitar); Al Viola (guitar); Gerald Vinci, Darrel Terwilliger, Johnny Vidor Strings, Walter Wiemeyer, Walter Rower, Harry Hyams, Justin DiTullio, Stanley Harris, Al Barr, Jesse Ehrlich, Bobby Bruce (strings); Maurice Simon, Harold Land, Jay Migliori, Ted Nash, Ben Webster, William Green , Charlie Kennedy (saxophone); Conrad Gozzo , John Anderson Concert Orchestra , Gerald Wilson, Al Porcino, Martin Banks (trumpet); Richard Taylor "Dick" Nash , Frank Rosolino, Lew McCreary (trombone); Bill Miller (piano); Earl Palmer , Mel Lewis (drums).

Hey Mrs. Jones

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Jimmy Witherspoon & Groove Holmes - Blues For Spoon And Groove

Bitrate: MP3@320K/s
Time: 32:34
Size: 74.6 MB
Styles: Urban blues
Year: 1965/2009
Art: Front

[2:08] 1. Take This Hammer, Pt. 1
[3:56] 2. Goin' To Chicago
[3:30] 3. In Blues
[2:30] 4. Gee Baby, Ain't I Good To You
[2:12] 5. Loser's Blues
[2:26] 6. Please Send Me Someone To Love
[2:25] 7. Key To The Highway
[2:23] 8. Cry The Blues
[2:07] 9. Out Blues (For Big Joe)
[3:28] 10. Since I Fell For You
[2:20] 11. Everything
[3:03] 12. Take This Hammer, Pt. 2

This was originally released as Groovin' & Spoonin' on Olympic (7107). It's a decent if unremarkable set of blues-jazz, heavier on the blues, with organist Groove Holmes being Witherspoon's most important sideman on this date (which also features tenor saxophonist Teddy Edwards). Several of the numbers are shopworn standards like "Take This Hammer," "Key to the Highway," "Please Send Me Someone to Love," and "Since I Fell for You," though everything's performed with taste. If you're looking for Witherspoon blues-jazz with an organ groove, the 1963 album Evenin' Blues (1963) is more highly recommended, though 'Spoon & Groove has no serious flaws. ~Richie Unterberger

Blues For Spoon And Groove

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Jimmy Witherspoon - 'Spoon / Hey, Mrs. Jones

Bitrate: MP3@320K/s

Time: 63:51

Size: 146.2 MB

Styles: Urban blues/Jazz vocals

Year: 2015

Art: Front

[2:45] 1. Lover Come Back To Me

[2:24] 2. A Blues Serenade

[2:43] 3. Do Nothin' Till You Hear From Me

[2:47] 4. Ain't Misbehavin'

[2:46] 5. We'll Be Together Again

[2:45] 6. I'll Always Be In Love With You

[2:12] 7. Just A Sittin' And A Rockin'

[2:49] 8. Just One More Chance

[2:32] 9. Music, Maestro, Please

[3:28] 10. It Only Happens Once

[2:57] 11. I'm Beginning To See The Light

[3:28] 12. Don't Worry 'bout Me

[2:19] 13. Hey, Mrs. Jones

[2:30] 14. In The Dark

[2:34] 15. Tanya

[2:10] 16. I Ain't Mad At You, Pretty Baby

[2:18] 17. Have Faith

[2:17] 18. Lovey Dovey

[3:08] 19. I Don't Know

[2:22] 20. Warm Your Heart

[2:21] 21. Wee Baby Blues

[2:45] 22. If You Live The Life, You Pay The Price

[2:31] 23. Pink Champagne

[2:49] 24. The Masquerade Is Over

Twofer: Spoon + Hey, Mrs. Jones (2 LPs on 1 CD). Jimmy Witerspoon (vcl), with Bob Florence & H.B.Barnum Orchestras feat. Gerald Wilson, Conrad Gozzo (tp), Si Zentner, Frank Rosolino (tb), Lanny Morgan (as), Teddy Edwards, Ben Webster (ts), Gerry Wiggins (p), Al Viola (g), Jimmy Bond (b), Earl Palmer (d).

Jimmy Witherspoon was more than just a pitch-perfect blues belter, able to bend a note or a phrase with great expressiveness, with the attack and blues feeling to stamp his individuality on the idiom. He was also blessed with the musicality, taste, sheer jazz feel and lyric smoothness that allowed him to perform persuasively in more sophisticated settings. Both sides of his musical personality are encompassed in two late-50s, early-60s albums made in stellar company. The first, Spoon, was produced by David Axelrod in 1959 for Hollywoods HiFi Records, but the label cancelled its jazz series before the album came out. Spoon wouldnt see the light until 1961, when Reprise took over the master and released it. It was a great two-date session featuring a swinging all-star orchestra arranged and conducted by Bob Florence, and with such soloists as Teddy Edwards, Gerald Wilson, Lanny Morgan and Gerry Wiggins.

Reprise later recorded Hey, Mrs. Jones!, giving Witherspoons forceful, vigorous and exuberant voice an excellent backing by the fresh, deft arrangements of H.B. Barnum. In a wide-ranging program strings and rhythm feature on some pieces, and a brassy big band on others, with Spoons vocals garnished by good solos from tenors Harold Land and Ben Webster. Together, these albums amply show the range of one of the greatest of all blues singers.

'Spoon Mrs. Jones    

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Jay McShann, Jimmy Witherspoon - Jay McShann Meets J. Witherspoon

Bitrate: MP3@320K/s
Time: 74:44
Size: 171.1 MB
Styles: Jazz-blues, R&B
Year: 1958/2009
Art: Front

[2:41] 1. Spoon Calls Hootie
[2:29] 2. Bar Fly Blues
[3:03] 3. Roll On Katy
[2:53] 4. Please Stop Playing Those Blues, Boy
[2:39] 5. Gone With The Blues
[2:56] 6. In The Evening
[5:57] 7. Ain't Nobody's Business
[2:57] 8. Christmas Bells
[3:06] 9. Backwater Blues
[2:30] 10. Sweet Lovin' Baby
[2:09] 11. Doctor Knows His Business
[2:43] 12. Good Jumping
[2:39] 13. Love My Baby
[2:23] 14. I'm Just A Lady's Man
[2:38] 15. Thelma Lee Blues
[2:15] 16. Baby Baby
[2:23] 17. Geneva Blues Aka Evil Woman
[2:59] 18. I'm Just A Country Boy
[2:54] 19. There Ain't Nothing Better
[3:07] 20. Love And Friendship
[2:57] 21. Slow Your Speed
[2:42] 22. Rain, Rain, Rain
[2:45] 23. Frog-I-More
[2:46] 24. Cain River Blues
[2:48] 25. The Duke And The Brute
[3:13] 26. When I've Been Drinking

This 1958 LP was just a random — and short — roundup of ten tracks from 1949-1951 singles Jimmy Witherspoon had done for Modern. With four national R&B hits, it does supply a fragmentary overview of Witherspoon's early career, in which he — like so many R&B singers — was purveying a brand of West Coast blues that could both swing and croon. It's not up there with the singer's best recordings, as it doesn't have the most forceful of the jazz-blues fusions he'd make. It's respectable early R&B, however, with a bunch of sides recorded in concert with a spontaneous rawness unusual even by the standards of this earlier, more rudimentary era. "Jump Children" (aka "Good Jumpin'") is a pretty transparent imitation of "Good Rockin' Tonight," however. The CD reissue on Ace adds a lot of value, tacking on eight bonus tracks from other 1948-1951 singles.

The great veteran pianist Jay McShann (also known as Hootie) enjoyed a long career and it is unfair to primarily think of him as merely the leader of an orchestra that featured a young Charlie Parker. He was mostly self-taught as a pianist, worked with Don Byas as early as 1931 and played throughout the Midwest before settling in Kansas City in 1936.

Jay McShann Meets J. Witherspoon

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Richard "Groove" Holmes & Jimmy Witherspoon - Groovin' And Spoonin'

Bitrate: MP3@320K/s
Time: 32:36
Size: 74.6 MB
Styles: Jazz-blues, Urban blues
Year: 1973/2010
Art: Front

[2:09] 1. Take This Hammer, Part 1
[3:30] 2. In Blues
[2:13] 3. Loser's Blues
[2:27] 4. Please Send Me Someone To Love
[2:25] 5. Key To The Highway
[2:24] 6. Cry The Blues
[2:07] 7. Out Blues (For Big Joe)
[3:27] 8. Since I Fell For You
[2:20] 9. Everything
[3:56] 10. Goin' To Chicago Blues
[2:30] 11. Gee Baby Ain't I Good To You
[3:03] 12. Take This Hammer, Part 2

Jimmy Witherspoon (Vocals), Groove Holmes (Organ), Teddy Edwards (Tenor Saxophone), Frank Butler (Drums), Jimmy Bond (Bass), Herman Mitchell (Guitar), Paul Moer (Piano).

An expanded CD was released in 2010. This material was also released on an album titled Spoon And Groove in 1996 and an album titled Blues For Spoon And Groove in 2009.

Groovin' And Spoonin' 

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Jimmy Witherspoon & Panama Francis' Savoy Sultans - S/T (Definitive Black & Blue Sessions)

Bitrate: MP3@320K/s
Time: 60:15
Size: 137.9 MB
Styles: Urban blues, Jazz-blues
Year: 2002/2008
Art: Front

[3:47] 1. Sent For You Yesterday
[7:07] 2. I Want A Little Girl
[3:52] 3. Don't You Miss Your Baby
[4:41] 4. Good Morning Blues
[6:18] 5. Moten Swing
[5:16] 6. Goin' To Chicago
[4:37] 7. Sometimes I Feel Like A Motherless Child
[3:17] 8. I May Be Wrong(Boogie Woogie)
[3:15] 9. Rain Keeps Falling Down
[3:07] 10. Gee Baby, Ain't I Good To You
[3:52] 11. Sent For You Yesterday
[3:20] 12. I May Be Wrong (Take 1)
[3:07] 13. Gee Baby, Ain't I Good To You (Take 1)
[4:31] 14. Sometimes I Feel Like A Motherless Child (Take 2)

Recording Date: May 19, 1980 & May 25, 1980. Jimmy Witherspoon (vcl), Francis Williams (tp), George Kelly (ts), Bill Easley (as), Bobby Smith (as), Red Richards (p), John Smith (g), Bill Pemberton (b) & Panama Francis (d).

Including some of Jimmy Witherspoon's finest performances, the Definitive Black & Blue Sessions is a handsomely compiled 14-track set of Witherspoon's tenure with bandleader Panama Francis. Often neglected in the artist's impressive body of work, the release of this disc calls for a reappraisal. Although nearing the end of his career, Witherspoon is in fine voice, and his work on "Sometimes I Feel Like a Motherless Child," in particular, is astonishing. Panama Francis' Savoy Sultans provide fine musical accompaniment, intuitively knowing when to hold back and when to dominate. As befits such great music, the disc is handsomely annotated and packaged. ~Thomas Ward

Jimmy Witherspoon & Panama Francis' Savoy Sultans

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Jimmy Witherspoon - Some Of My Best Friends Are The Blues

Bitrate: MP3@320K/s
Time: 33:47
Size: 77.4 MB
Styles: Urban blues, Jazz-blues vocals
Year: 1964/1994
Art: Front

[2:54] 1. Some Of My Best Friends Are The Blues
[2:38] 2. Everytime I Think About You
[2:46] 3. I Never Will Marry
[3:26] 4. I Wanna Be Around
[2:58] 5. Teardrops From My Eyes
[2:54] 6. And The Angels Sing
[3:36] 7. Who's Sorry Now
[2:22] 8. I'm Comin Down With The Blues
[2:15] 9. You're Next
[2:12] 10. Happy Blues
[2:30] 11. That's Why I'm Leaving
[3:11] 12. One Last Chance

Jimmy Witherspoon is accompanied by a large orchestra arranged by Benny Golson for a set emphasizing slow tempos (even on "And the Angels Sing" and "Who's Sorry Now"), ballads and blues. Nothing all that memorable occurs, but the singer is in strong voice, and his fans will want to pick up this interesting CD reissue. ~Scott Yanow

Some Of My Best Friends Are The Blues

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Jimmy Witherspoon - Jimmy Witherspoon With The Duke Robillard Band

Bitrate: MP3@320K/s
Time: 56:52
Size: 130.2 MB
Styles: Urban blues, Jazz-blues
Year: 2000
Art: Front

[13:59] 1. Glide On
[ 6:30] 2. Going Down Slow
[ 5:54] 3. Big Boss Man
[ 8:11] 4. Ain't Nobody's Business
[ 7:05] 5. I'll Always Be In Love With You
[ 8:22] 6. Stormy Monday Blues
[ 6:49] 7. Times Getting' Tougher Than Tough

The material on this album was recorded in concert shortly before Jimmy Witherspoon's death at age 74, and it appears that this was his last recording. The significance of that fact cuts both ways on this attractive but sometimes frustrating album. On the one hand, fans will welcome it as a last document of Witherspoon's undeniable talent and presence. On the other hand, it's hard to overlook the fact that by this point he was no longer at the peak of his powers. Although he tries gamely to generate the energy of his past work -- and occasionally succeeds, as on the electrifying "I'll Always Be in Love With You" -- for the most part his voice is phlegmy and weak, his intonation approximate at best. Duke Robillard works well with Witherspoon, goosing his band to a level of energy intended to invigorate the aging singer without overpowering him, and delivering sharp and witty solos that keep things lively and interesting. There is also a fine cameo appearance by the British blues singer Long John Baldry, whose presence also seems to give Witherspoon a shot in the arm. Overall, though, this is an album that will appeal primarily to diehard fans of the singer and to Robillard completists. ~Rick Anderson

Jimmy Witherspoon With The Duke Robillard Band

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